Ali versus Liston

The two Ali versus Liston fights were among the most anticipated, watched and controversial fights in boxing history.

Pre-first fight records and chaos

Liston was the world Heavyweight champion, having dethroned Floyd Patterson by a knockout in the first round in 1962 to win the title; with an impressive knockout win record, Liston was a fighter that not many other fighters of his division at that era were willing to fight. Often described as reclusive and timid, Liston did not like to smile or talk to the press too much.

Ali, then under the name of Cassius Clay, on the other hand, was a fast-talking 22 year old challenger who enjoyed the spotlight; he had won the gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics; he had hand speed and a lot of confidence. Nevertheless, he had been dropped by journeyman Sonny Banks in a previous fight. Few observers and fans believed he could beat Liston, and he was made a seven to one betting underdog.

During training camp, Ali took to drive a school bus across to the site where Liston was training; he started to call Liston the big, ugly bear. Liston resented this very much. Ali told everyone within ear range that he would knock Liston out in eight rounds.

During the check-up the day before their first fight, Ali's heart beat came at 120 pulses per minute. Many thought of this as a sign; either Ali wasn't in proper shape, or he was nervous about fighting Liston.

The first fight

Their first fight was held on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida, where Ali was residing (his trainer, Angelo Dundee, operated a gym nearby). Ali arguably dominated the first two rounds. By the third round, however, Liston seemed reinvigorated, and Ali fought most of the round complaining that he was blind. It has been argued ever since that Liston's corner, seeing as their fighter was being beaten by Ali, might have put some kind of vaseline or another type of ointment on Liston's gloves. Dundee instructed Ali to back away from Liston until he recovered his sight.

Ali had recovered it by the fifth round, and he began to outjab the champion again. Suddenly, between rounds six and seven, Liston complained of shoulder numbness and said he was quitting. Many have suggested that Liston faked the injury to prevent himself from being further embarrassed by Ali; this view is unproven, as the fight was tied on the judges' scorecards after six rounds.

After his win, Ali proclaimed his now famous words of "I shook up the world!"

The second bout

Because of the strange ending of the first bout, boxing authorities ordered a second bout, this time with Ali as the defending world champion and Liston as challenger. The bout would have been held in November, 1964, but Ali got ill and needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. The fight was then postponed, and re-scheduled to be fought at Boston, Massachusetts. But the fight's promoters did not have a license to promote fights in Massachusetts, so the fight ended up being held at a small auditorium in Lewiston, Maine, the state's second largest city, on May 25, 1965. As a direct result of the fight's remote location, only 2,434 fans attended it live, setting an all-time record for the lowest attendance in a world championship boxing fight.

This proved to be one of the most controversial fights in history. Midway through the first round, Liston fell to the canvas, in what many have argued that was not an original knockdown. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world Heavyweight champion himself, seemed to be confused after he sent Ali to a neutral corner and the champion refused, instead posing over Liston and dancing around his fallen rival, with his fists up in the air, celebrating the fall. Walcott took twenty seconds to figure out what to do. Nat Fleischer, publisher of Ring Magazine, finally told Walcott that Liston had spent about twenty seconds on the canvas, and Walcott then stopped the fight, awarding Ali with a first round knockout.

The Ali-Liston rematch became known as "the ghost punch fight". Most people at ringside did not see the punch with which Ali knocked Liston out. Many actually continue to claim that Liston had bet against himself because he owed money to the mafia; therefore, according to the ones who believe that theory, he went to the floor on purpose. Slow motion replays of the knockout moment, however, show Ali connecting with a quick right to Liston's head the second before Liston fell.

It shall be pointed out that, although Ali is recognized by many boxing experts and fans as one of the greatest boxers of all time; many still continue to question the results of his two confrontations with Liston.

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